Generational Differences in Work Values and Attitudes: Reintroducing Retirees to the Workforce

Reintroducing retirees into the workforce has been proposed as a solution to population ageing. This paper explores whether generational differences about work values and attitudes might represent a barrier to the reintroduction of retirees to the workforce. Based on empirical data collected from pre and post interviews with 32 respondents across three generational cohorts in Australia, and a research intervention to simulate retirees’ reintroduction to the workforce, this paper theorizes about workplace conflict caused by generational differences. The pre-research intervention results show significant generation differences. The post-research intervention results showed positive change. The findings provide important contributions about the impact of generational differences in terms of work values and attitudes and how sharing retirees’ knowledge modifies some negative stereotypes about older people. A conceptual model is developed to reflect general differences in work values and attitudes. Overall result supports our contention that the reintroduction of retirees to the workforce is a feasible solution to aging population and knowledge sharing, which may also be used to improve positive work behaviours between generations in the workplace.